Dog mauls boy to death

N.C. --- (WCNC News) An 18-month-old North Carolina boy is dead after being mauled by his grandfather's dog.

Nyhiem Wilfong and a 5-year-old cousin were playing in their grandfather's backyard Sunday night.

His dog Kobe, a 100 pound Rottweiler, was chained up, and the children went to play with him, as they had done so many times before.

"The dog grabbed the child by the head, from what we're understanding. Now you take a 1-year-old child with a dog that big, it doesn't take a whole lot of pressure for that dog to do some damage," said Greg Greene, who heads Caldwell County Animal Control.

Greene says Kobe has not been the least bit aggressive since the attack.

The dog has been placed in the animal shelter, and officials tell NBC Charlotte the dog's owner will have the opportunity to claim the dog, provided it is kept in an enclosure. If the dog's owner does not reclaim it, the dog may be put down.

The boy's grandfather told NBC Charlotte's Glenn Counts that several of his grandchildren spend time at his home, and that the dog has never acted like this before. The children were outside unsupervised.